1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector and to a connection method for connecting one or more terminal fittings of a connector with one or more wires.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 11 to 15 show a prior art connector disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 6(HEI)-34367. The prior art connector of FIGS. 11-15 includes a plurality of terminal fittings 111. Each terminal fitting 111 used in this prior art connector includes female contacts 112 provided at the front end, wire barrels 113 provided in the middle and insulation barrels 114 provided at the rear end. The wire barrels 113 are to be connected to a core 123 of a wire 121 and the insulation barrels 114 are to be connected with an insulation coating 122 of the wire 121. The terminal fittings 111 are mounted in a connector housing 131 (hereinafter, merely "housing 131") as shown in FIG. 11 to form the prior art connector.
The housing 131 of the prior art connector is formed with four cavities 137, in which the terminal fittings 111 are mounted. Further, the upper surface of the housing 131 is cut away from the rear end to a position slightly forward than the middle, thereby forming an opening 133. Openings are made in the rear end surface of the prior art housing 131 to correspond to the respective cavities 137. Further, partition walls 134 are provided at the boundaries between the respective cavities 137.
As shown in FIG. 13, the lower surface of the prior art housing 131 is formed with openings 135 in positions corresponding to the positions of the wire barrels 113 at bottom walls 116 of the terminal fittings 111. An anvil 141 for crimping the wire barrels 113 is insertable through the openings 135. A crimper 142, which crimps the wire barrels 113 in cooperation with the anvil 141, is insertable through the opening 133 in the upper surface of the housing 131.
An anvil 143 for crimping the insulation barrels 114 can be brought into contact with the lower surface of the housing 131 in positions corresponding to those of the insulation barrels 114 of the terminal fittings 111. A crimper 144, which crimps the insulation barrels 114 in cooperation with the anvil 143, is insertable through the opening 133 in the upper surface of the housing 131. The anvils 141, 143 are made integral to each other at their lower parts, whereas the crimpers 141, 142 are made integral to each other at their upper parts. Accordingly, the crimping operation of the anvil 141and the crimper 142 and that of the anvil 143 and the crimper 144 are performed simultaneously by an unillustrated cylinder or like driving source via a toggle mechanism or the like.
To assembly the prior art connector, the housing 131 having the terminal fittings 111 mounted in the cavities 137 is transported to a location where the crimping operation is performed. The wire 121 is brought with the core 123 exposed by peeling the insulation coating 122 by a specified length. The wire 121 is located above the connector in such a state as shown in FIG. 12 (the housing 131 is shown in FIG. 12). If the wire 121 is lowered in this state, the core 123 exposed at the leading end is fitted between the wire barrels 113 and a portion of the wire 121 still covered by the insulation coating 122 is fitted between the insulation barrels 114.
The crimpers 142, 144 are lowered and the anvils 141, 143 are raised by driving an unillustrated driving mechanism in the state shown in FIG. 13. Then, the crimper 142 strikes against the wire barrels 113, and the crimper 144 strikes against the insulation barrels 114. Simultaneously, the anvil 141 strikes against the bottom walls 116 of the terminal fittings 111 through the openings 135 in the lower surface of the housing 131 and the anvil 143 strikes against the lower surface of the housing 131.
By further driving the driving mechanism, the wire barrels 113 of the terminal fittings 111 are crimped by the anvil 141 and the crimper 142 as shown in FIG. 15, thereby holding the cores 123. Although this crimping force is considerably strong, the anvil 141 and the crimper 142 do not break or damage the housing 131 since they act directly on the terminal fittings 111.
Further, the insulation coatings 122 of the wires 121 are held by crimping th insulation barrels 114 of the terminal fittings 111 by the anvil 143 and the crimper 144.
As described above, a floor surface 131A of the housing 131 is left as it is below the insulation barrels 114 and the crimper 144 enters between the partition walls 134. Thus, it becomes extremely difficult to perform the crimping operation if the housing 131 and the terminal fittings 111 are considerably smaller.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problem, and an object thereof is to provide a connector and a connection method in which insulation coatings of wires can be securely connected with the terminal fittings mounted in a connector housing.